Passengers prepare to board the train K4051 to Nantong, East China's Jiangsu Province, at the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Jan 21, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua)

Railway trips in China reached 60.3 million during the week-long Spring Festival holiday from Feb 4 to Feb 10, data from the national railway operator showed Monday.

On Feb 10, some 12.6 million passenger trips were made by rail, up 4.4 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Corporation (CRC).

Hundreds of millions of Chinese went back to their hometowns to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with their families. The annual travel rush around the festival, known as "chunyun," often puts the country's transportation system to the test.

This year's Spring Festival travel rush started from Jan 21 and will last till March 1, with railway trips expected to hit 413 million in total, up 8.3 percent.